I Tested the “Hot and Sweet” and the “Hot Wing” Pizzas at Andy’s and the Results Were Shocking!
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| A close-up shot of the “Hot and Sweet” Pizza at Andy’s Pizza in Peckville. This pizza starts out with a very pleasant sweet flavor and then slowly delivers some heat as you chew it! It’s really a cool experience that you have to try to understand. |
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| The Hot Wing pizza from Andy’s in Peckville. |
The Ratings
Price: $15.60
The Time I Went Back in Time to Try Andy’s Pizza
I visited Andy’s Pizza six years ago almost to the day and enjoyed my visit, but six years is a long time and a lot can change in that time. Andy’s had reached out a few times over the years to invite me back, because a lot has changed in that time and from where I was sitting, many of the changes involved going all the way back in time to the beginning! So much so that the slogan you find on their t-shirts is “Take a Step Back in Time.” On my side, I have reviewed so many pizzas in 6 years, my taste buds are sharper, my pizza knowledge is greater (I hope!), I’m more open minded toward types of pizzas which aren’t necessarily my favorite style, and as a result I think my opinions are a bit more refined and geared toward a broader audience. So with Andy’s going back to the future, and with me with several hundred more pizzas under my belt, I thought the time was right to accept Andy’s challenge and make my return visit.
It was just amazing to me to see people essentially lined up to get their pizza. Now, I’m not a nosy person at all – unless it comes to pizza. I couldn’t help but overhear the number of people ordering sausage as a topping. Usually pepperoni is the king of popular toppings but my very unscientific and very small sample size resulted in nearly 50% of the pizzas ordered were with sausage! I’ve also noted that on facebook and instagram many people post Andy’s pizza photos and they have sausage on them so it must be a perfect pairing for this particular pizza! Another thing I noticed while I was in the dining room was that everyone working seemed to know every single guest that walked through the door, in fact I audibly heard the waitress ask “the usual?” and nothing else needed to be said! The drinks were out and the pizza came shortly after. Now that’s service!
So from all of the tens of thousands of people that I’ve spoken to over the years, there are probably 10-20 “Legendary” pizza places who are broadly popular, and a person who lives within 10-15 miles of the place might give a little toe to have just one more pizza. These places are usually historical, offer a unique product, and have a way of treating customers that keep them coming back. I could name who I believe is on this list, but it would lead to a discussion larger than this review. For simplicity’s sake, I’ll make my point and say that Andy’s history, unique product, favorable reputation, and customer service put them in the “Legendary” category of NEPA. You can have your opinions on various styles of pizzerias, but you cannot deny a restaurant’s status among those who love it.
After chatting with Joan and learning a little more about the history of the business and some really cool stories about a few of the pieces of memorabilia on the walls, my cheese pizza was sitting before me in no time. Joan left me to do my thing and give this pizza a thorough review. It looked fantastic with its high rise crust perfectly browned and serving as a sturdy barrier to hold in the generous amount of cheese on top. The cheese was gooey except for a few small select spots which had some slight charring. I’m not one for burned cheese, but the little hints of charring really added to the flavor profile. I couldn’t help but notice that the sauce was a little more distinct than my previous review and I really appreciated that because it provided a better balance to the pizza making it more of a “grilled cheese with tomato” rather than a “grilled cheese” only type of pizza, if you know what I’m saying. Comparing the pizza to grilled cheese really undersells it because the crust is truly a marvel to behold. In in the center, the dough was soft and bread-like, but it’s crisp on the bottom. The crust was risen nicely and cooked all the way through. It had a neutral, but pleasant flavor that played nicely with the saltiness of the cheese blend and the savory sauce.
Overall, I definitely enjoyed this pizza and appreciated even more than my last visit. To be able to sit with Joan and her daughter Sam and really learn about the “Take a Step Back in Time” message and just a slice of the magical history of Andy’s truly added to the experience and I’d like to thank them both for a wonderful experience. I was treated extremely well, but after seeing how they treat all of their customers, I know I didn’t receive any special treatment – that’s just how they treat everybody! If you haven’t been to Andy’s it’s truly a place you have to experience because it takes you back and time and you can feast on some darn good pizza while you’re there!
Do you have an Andy’s experience you’d like to share? Please leave it in the comments! I’d love to read about them!
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| Andy’s unique pizza is unlike anything else in the area, perhaps the world! |
Reviewing the Legendary Andy’s Pizza for the First Time
My first impression upon walking in was that this was a very casual place with nothing fancy. When we sat down, I made a critical rookie mistake in asking for a menu. My buddy called me out on being a newbie, and the waitress informed me that they only served pizza, so there were no menus besides the one on the wall when you walk in the door. So after my rocky start, the choice was simple! We ordered “a pizza” and that was essentially all we needed to say because Andy’s keeps it simple – 1 product, 1 pizza, 1 size. All you have to do is pick the toppings. In this case we went with a plain cheese as I customarily like to do for this blog. I didn’t have long to look around the casual dining room with wooden booths and walls lined with photos and memorabilia because the pizza was literally done in 5 minutes, which was impressive.
I finally got a glimpse of this fabled pizza, and my buddy was right, this was different than anything I had reviewed so far. The crust was very thick, fluffy, plump, and almost bread-like. The pizza was smothered with American cheese which was creamy, milky, and melted to absolute perfection. The dough looked to be cooked a bit lightly, but after the first bite, it was apparent that this was cooked just right. The crust, although very fluffy, was cooked all the way through, and was slightly crispy on the bottom which was amazing. The dough also radiated the pungent smell of fermented yeast, which if you aren’t familiar, it smells kind of like beer. If you can’t tell, the crust was really the dominating feature of this tray of pizza. The cheese was also good in the sense that it was cooked properly and not burned. American cheese is what it is, but if you cook it properly it is a nice complement as was the case here. Finally, the sauce kind of faded into obscurity between the mammoth crust and generous portion of cheese. If nothing more, it added some balance to the pie, but not much to report in terms of flavor.
Restaurant: Andy’s Pizza
Location: Peckville, PA
Date: January 2013
Pizza Ordered: Round Pie
Price: $11.00
Eat In/Take Out: Eat In
Crust: 4.5/5
Sauce: 2.5/5
Cheese: 3.25/5
Overall Taste: 3.5/5
Crispy/Cooked Properly: 5/5
Overall Value: 2.5/5
OVERALL RATING: 3.5/5
